Halverson: God's time

Saturday, June 28, 2014
    Feast of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200
Meditation:
    And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
    —Ephesians 1:9-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    God has a time for everything, a perfect schedule. He is never too soon, never too late. The when of His will is as important as the what and the how.
    ... Richard C. Halverson (1916-1995), No Greater Power: Perspective for Days of Pressure, Multnomah Press, 1986, p. 213 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 1:9-12; Matt. 6:27; 26:52-56; Mark 1:15; Luke 12:35-40; John 13:1; Acts 17:26; 1 Cor. 10:11; Gal. 4:4-5; Heb. 1:1-2; 11:39-40
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I ever remain ready for Your will and purposes. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Reid: on outreach

Friday, June 27, 2014
Meditation:
    See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
    —Colossians 2:8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This is the age of the conference and study group—people talking about what they know they should be doing. In a subtle way, talking about something becomes an excuse for not doing it. This new bolt-hole of the conference and study group is not confined to the local congregation. It is a painful fact of life in the central structures of the churches. We have a welter of reports, commissions, surveys, liaison bodies, and so on. They have the appearance of progressive thinking and readiness to face change, combined with the function of being delaying devices. They are the sacraments of current Christianity, and its dilemma.
    Outreach is a move from power structures to meekness structures, and, in spite of the fact that Christians believe that it is the meek who shall inherit the earth, they show (as in the ecumenical movement) a distinct reluctance to relinquish power-structure thinking.
    ... Gavin Reid (b. 1934), The Gagging of God, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1969, p. 91 (see the book)
    See also Col. 2:8-10; Eccl. 12:12; Matt. 7:21; 12:46-50; Luke 6:46-49; 11:27-28; John 5:39-40; 13:17; Rom. 2:13; Jas. 1:22; 4:17; 1 John 2:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, guide Your church away from worldly concerns. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kirk: the end of religion

Thursday, June 26, 2014
Meditation:
    We love him, because he first loved us.
    —1 John 4:19 (KJV)
Quotation:
    The Way is not a religion: Christianity is the end of religion. “Religion” here means the division between sacred and secular concerns, other-worldliness, man’s reaching toward God in a way which projects his own thoughts.
    ... David Kirk (1935-2007), Quotations from Chairman Jesus, Springfield, Ill.: Templegate Publishers, 1969, p. 87 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 4:19; Matt. 23:2-33; Rom. 3:12,22-24; 11:36; 1 Cor. 3:16,17; Heb. 11:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the initiator of all that has happened in my life. I acknowledge Your gift of faith and I ask for more. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Saphir: all Scripture is Gospel

Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Meditation:
    Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
    —Galatians 3:24-25 (KJV)
Quotation:
    When Paul speaks [II Cor. 3] of our being ministers of the New Testament, he does not refer to books most of which were not yet written, but to the gospel, which he found in the Scripture he possessed. The Jews could only see “Old Testament” in Moses and the prophets, because they were blind. To the spiritual all Scripture is gospel, or New Testament (the Law being the schoolmaster, bringing us to Christ), but to the natural and self righteous, as we ought to know from experience and observation, all Scripture (gospels and epistles included) is Old Testament, or Covenant of Works.
    ... Adolph Saphir (1831-1891), Christ and Israel, London: Morgan and Scott, 1911, p. 191 (see the book)
    See also Gal.3:24-25; Gen. 15:6; Jer. 31:31-34; 32:40; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:6-13; 9:15; 10:16-17; 13:20-21
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I praise You for the liberty of Your new covenant. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ryle: the source of holiness

Tuesday, June 24, 2014
    Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
    —John 15:1-2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Holiness comes not of blood—parents cannot give it to their children: nor yet of the will of the flesh—man cannot produce it in himself: nor yet of the will of man—ministers cannot give it you by baptism. Holiness comes from Christ. It is the result of vital union with Him. It is the fruit of being a living branch of the True Vine.
    ... J. C. Ryle (1816-1900), Holiness [1877, 1879], Sovereign Grace Publishers, reprint, 2001, p. 32 (see the book)
    See also John 15:1-8; Rom. 12:1-2; Phil. 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 5:22; 1 Tim. 6:11-12; Tit. 1:15; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; 2 Pet. 1:4-8; 1 John 1:6-7; 3:2-3; 2 John 1:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You nourish Your people with holiness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ellul: the only testimony

Monday, June 23, 2014
    Feast of Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely, c.678
Meditation:
    “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” [Jonah] replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
    —Jonah 1:12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Jonah counts on the will of God calming the storm. This is not a mechanical effect. It is the reference to a free will that Jonah has learned to know already when he was chosen to carry the word. It is the reference to a good will, for outside Jesus Christ there is no full testimony that God’s will is good and his concern is to save man rather than to cause him to perish.
    ... Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), The Judgment of Jonah, tr. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1971, p. 38 (see the book)
    See also Jonah 1:12; 1 Chr. 21:17; Matt. 7:11; Luke 1:53; 6:35; 18:19; Acts 27:21-26; Tit. 3:4-7; Jas. 1:17; 1 John 4:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your goodness reaches Your people. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Olney: the truth taught by Jesus

Sunday, June 22, 2014
    Feast of Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.209
Meditation:
    Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
    —John 14:6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The great need today among the young is the strengthening of belief in things spiritual, for in spite of the superhuman advances in science, invention, and culture, none of this is attributed to God’s gift to man; in fact, the increase of knowledge and the cult of education have but given to youth a self-reliant independence where religion has no place, and beyond admitting that Christ was “the best man that ever lived,” there are few who concede any other tribute to the Creator. And yet the saving principles of the world are rooted in Christ, implanted in him; the Truth by which men live is the Truth as taught and lived by Jesus.
    ... Helen Olney, Thoughts
    See also John 14:6; 1:14; 8:32; Acts 4:12; 17:21-23; 2 Cor. 1:19-20; 2 John 1:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are needed throughout our world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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